“On a Mish” #150 Adventures in Nepal (Part Five). Salme to Megang Danda. 7.11.2018. After a couple of days hiking the team had developed a comfortable rhythm and was moving in unison. Step, step, admire the amazing view, repeat became how we spent the days while we moved closer to the small village of Salme. By now word of the foreigners coming had spread and the closer we got the more people we bumped into. Hats off to the first resident of Salme, for its location hosts a view that can occupy the mind for hours…
We made our way through the temporary structures and construction sites arriving at the terraced rice-field amphitheatre at Salme School. We saw where the tents were being pitched and were welcomed with a huge “Namaste” from our team of legends, who were busy readying the area for our night’s stay.
The nights meal matched the view, both unbeatable and highly addictive (in a good way!). The Active Hearts Whanau had a jam and sing along watching the sun setting on another perfect day in a very remote part of Nepal. After our foreigner jam (us, not the epic power ballad band), we headed over to join the fellas by the open fire for some real entertainment. The ground was stomped flat as we all danced away the remainder of our energy, and then one by one we retreated away to our tents for a good night’s sleep.
The Salme roosters had us up early-ish for a test of the table’s strength under the weight of the food prepared for our breakfast. Before leaving the area, we stopped in at the school, and our leaders discussed the opportunity of an Active Hearts Library at the school (more on that later), and then we said goodbye to the wonderful people of this incredible spot.
The days walk had us hiking through the jungle under the mindful eye of our group guru Ba, and this took us to an epic saddle which looked back to Salme Village. The distance was a lot shorter than the other days, so we arrived at our next camp site located in a partially rebuilt monastery around lunchtime, and this gave us the rest of the afternoon to explore.
During our travels we came across some locals playing volleyball, and this prompted an international volleyball battle for the ages. We returned to camp and were very excited when we were told that the next day’s camp site would not only have a volleyball court, but also the chance to see Manaslu(8163m), the eighth highest mountain on the planet.
The next day began once again with the majestic call of the local roosters, and after powering through another breakfast masterpiece, we were on the trail again. To get to our next destination of Megang Danda we had to slowly climb as this camp was the highest altitude of the trip. We left the monastery, and as we gained height, we could look back to the mountains of the Langtang Valley, with the snow capped peak of Langtang Lirung(7227m) standing tallest.
The slow dusty climb was rewarded with stunning views into the deep valleys below, and at the high point of the day, just before camp, we had glimpses of Manaslu(8163m). After soaking in the epicness we headed down to one of the greatest camp sites I have ever walked into, complete with volleyball court as promised…
